He groans out a laugh over the line, and the sound is enough to make her chest tighten. It’s incredibly silly to miss him when he’s only been gone for two days, but she can’t quite help it. Her (their) bed already feels a little too empty without him, his side a little too cold when she runs her hand over the spot he usually takes up. She doesn’t know where this is coming from. They’ve been apart dozens and dozens of times before, not of their choosing, necessarily, but they’ve dealt with it. And she was fine. She’d miss him, but not quite like this. Not quite like every part of her somehow aches, her body craving his touch.

“You’re killing me, doll.” To his credit, James sounds amused rather than patronizing. “I’ll only be gone one more night.”

“I know.” She closes her eyes, lets out a breath. “I just feel–”

“Lonely?”

“Yes.” She feels herself smile. He chuckles, voice low and deep and sending tingles down her spine.

1. Luke believed Ben Solo was the chosen one

“[Luke] made a huge mistake in thinking that his nephew was the chosen one, so he invested everything he had in Kylo, much like Obi-Wan did with my character,” Hamill says. “And he is betrayed, with tragic consequences. Luke feels responsible for that. That’s the primary obstacle he has to rejoining the world and his place in the Jedi hierarchy, you know? It’s that guilt, that feeling that it’s his fault, that he didn’t detect the darkness in him until it was too late.”

LOL, what a mess.

2. Luke gives Rey a chilly reception - and forces her to confront her sense of abandonment afresh

Luke definitely does not give Rey the warm welcome he received when he went in search of Alec Guinness’ Ben Kenobi in 1977’s original Star Wars. She is warned. She is given an explanation. Nevertheless …“She’s so hopeful to everything,” Ridley says. “And obviously there’s a hint of, ‘What the hell?’”

This rejection hits Rey’s abandonment issues. Hard.

Luke’s brush-off makes Rey miss the gruff warmth of Han Solo, Ridley says, giving us a peek inside the head of her character: “’Oh my God, this other man that I lost within a couple days was somewhat of a father figure. Now he’s gone, and instead I’m with this grumpy guy on an island who doesn’t want me here.’”

But Ridley says Rey is also placing huge expectations on Luke. She arrives on the island of Ahch-To, site of a primitive Jedi temple, not to become a hero herself, but to shove Skywalker back into the fight. “I don’t think one girl, who he doesn’t know, turning up with a lightsaber is gonna make him go, ‘Oh, s—, yeah, of course I’ll get back into the action,’” Ridley says.

Poor bb Rey.

3. Kylo is fascinated by Rey

As we know, the young scavenger was ditched as a child on the hardscrabble junkyard world of Jakku by unknown parents and left for years to survive on her own. But lately, she has gotten accustomed to making fast friends, like BB-8, Finn, Chewbacca, and General Leia Organa. Even the murderous Kylo Ren became fascinated by her strength and resilience after kidnapping her.

No shit.

4.
Ahch-To is home to a quasi-nunnery populated by vaguely amphibious caretakers - and they merely tolerate Luke Skywalker’s presence

“They’re kind of these sort of fish-bird type aliens who live on the island,” Johnson says. “They’ve been there for thousands of years, and they essentially keep up the structures on the island. They’re all female, and I wanted them to feel like a remote sort of little nunnery,” Johnson says. “Neal Scanlan’s crew designed them, and costume designer Michael Kaplan made these working clothes that also reflected sort of a nun-like, spartan sort of existence.”They can communicate with Luke through what Johnson describes as “a blubbery sort of Scottish fish talk” but they’re not thrilled to have him hanging around. Johnson says they “tolerate” his presence.

Please let this be Black Narcissus with extra aliens.

5. We’ll learn more about Snoke’s nature and goals - but don’t expect his lifestory

Johnson says The Last Jedi will reveal more about Snoke and his goals, but his history will remain somewhat murky. “Similar to Rey’s parentage, Snoke is here to serve a function in the story. And a story is not a Wikipedia page,” the filmmaker says. “For example, in the original trilogy, we didn’t know anything about the Emperor except what Luke knew about him, that he’s the evil guy behind Vader. Then in the prequels, you knew everything about Palpatine because his rise to power was the story.” In The Last Jedi, Johnson says, “we’ll learn exactly as much about Snoke as we need to.”

Hahahaha at all the emptiness of the inane Snoke speculation.

6. Snoke is no puppet on a string

Will we see Snoke performed as a real-life puppet? “No, it’s entirely a mo-cap performance,” Johnson says. “[Creature designer] Neal Scanlan built a maquette that we had on set for lighting reference and to give the actors a sense of what it was going to feel like. And then we scanned that and [Industrial Light & Magic] used that in their renderings, but Snoke will be an entirely CG creation.”

Don’t take anything for granted - least of all spoiler reports!

7. Finn starts out desperate to leave the fight and find Rey

“It got really real for him,” Boyega tells EW. “And he just wants to get away and not be involved. His intention in the first place was to go to the Outer Rim. He was always brought back [in The Force Awakens,], but this is his chance to get away and perhaps find Rey and go off together. He’s trying to do that at first.”

8. Rose is a true nobody

“Poe Dameron is super cool. Finn’s super cool. Even though [Rose] is good at what she does, she’s not known,” Tran says. “She’s not cool. She’s this nobody, this background player, which is what makes her interesting. She’s not the best. She’s not royalty. She’s someone who is just like everyone else.”

Rose is a gearhead, a grease monkey, a behind-the-scenes jack-of-all-trades, while her sister Paige (played by Veronica Ngo) is the dynamic one — a Resistance gunner who fights on the front lines alongside Resistance luminaries like Poe Dameron, Oscar Isaac’s X-wing ace.

Rose - nobody or not - sounds pretty awesome, imho.

9. Rose and Finn drive each other forward - but people can struggle to live up to others’ expectations

Rose is starstruck by Finn: “He appreciates the adoration for a second, but when he meets her, Finn is trying to escape the whole war. He’s trying to leave,” Boyega says. “And she comes in and basically gives him a depiction of himself that wasn’t necessarily true.” But he likes the impression Rose has, the vision she has of him. A good guy. A brave guy. Seeing himself through her eyes gives the ex-Stormtrooper something to live up to. “It’s now an opportunity for him to be the best he can be. He has to make a decision, and Rose is there to help him make that choice.”

It shouldn’t be a spoiler to reveal that, yes, she helps Finn stay in the fight, although the urge to get out is still burning inside him.

Also… living up to Rose’s high expectations is not a task anyone can truly fulfill.

Hey, I love your gods&monsters series, could you write something about Apollo? ^Preferably something with a positive vibe, something romantic... But that's totally up to you, anything about Apollo makes me happy

Apollo
has many sons.

He only
ever has nine daughters.

~

He has
his first when he’s young, too young to know better.

Daphne
is beautiful and coy, and leads him on a merry chase. He catches her, and finally
silences her laughing mouth with his own. They sleep together, and she leaves
bite marks up his neck.

Her
father, the river god Peneus, finds out about them. Apollo had not known it was
secret. Peneus is a hard, selfish god, and he slits Daphne’s throat for her
impurity. Better a dead daughter then one who does not listen.

Apollo
finds out too late. He arrives to Daphne dead on the side of her father’s
riverbank, stomach swollen in a way Apollo doesn’t remember it being the last
time he saw her, which was – which was – it couldn’t have been that long, could
it?

He
cannot bring himself to bury Daphne, to sentence her to an afterlife beneath
the earth. Instead, he transforms her into a large laurel tree, so her beauty
will remain eternal. He presses a hand against her trunk and says, “My hair
will have you, my lyre will have you, my quiver will have you.” Apollo looks
down at the baby, too small, tucking into the crook of his arm. “Our daughter
will have you.”

He
calls her Calliope. Their daughter weaves laurel leaves into her hair every day
of her life.

~

When he
is older, but not wiser, he gets drunk on the top of Olympus. It is not the
first time, nor the last, but this time it is different.

This
time Hestia, goddess of the hearth, of warmth, of family, places her delicate
hand around the back of his neck and leads him to her rooms.

Months
later, he lands his chariot, the sun finally set. His arms are shaking, and his
legs are covered from burns when the sun grew tired and tried to consume him,
but could not. Hestia stands before him, something held in her arms. “What’s
wrong?” he asks roughly, throat dry and the skin of his lips cracking. Hestia
rarely leaves Olympus.

“I am
no mother,” she tells him, and he doesn’t understand until she places a warm,
squirming bundle in his arms. He holds it to his chest automatically. “Her name
is Terpsichore.”

She
leaves before he has the chance to question her. He looks down, and the baby
has his golden eyes and her dark hair. “Hello, little one.”

Calliope
is fully grown now. Apollo leaves Terpsichore in her care, and promises to come
when called.

“Yes,
Father,” Calliope says, rolling her eyes as her little sister grabbing fistfuls
of her curly hair. There’s an ink smudge across her face, and her home is
bursting with books. He should really talk to Athena about letting Calliope use
one of her libraries.

He
kisses both their foreheads before leaving.

~

Apollo
falls in love with a Spartan prince, graceful and strong and with a wide,
pretty mouth. He falls in love with a mind that can match him, with a smile
that leaves him breathless. Hyacinth captures his affections and attentions
utterly, and for a few short years Apollo is enchanted, for a few short years
Apollo feels a love deep in his chest that is only surpassed by the love he has
for his sister.

Then
Hyacinth is killed.

He
shows up at his daughters’ door, and Calliope and Terpsichore take one look at
him and usher him inside. He can’t bring himself to speak, but he’s covered in
blood that isn’t his own, is pale and shaken and mourning.

They
clean him and care for him and settle him to bed, although he cannot bring
himself to sleep.

Less
than a week later, there is a mortal woman there looking for him. Her eyes are
red, but she stands tall and her lips are pressed into a straight line. A
toddler who shares her dark coloring clutches her skirt. “I am the Princess of
Sparta, and wife of Hyacinth.”

Apollo
hadn’t known Hyacinth had a wife. He hadn’t asked. Surely he would have noticed
– but then again, perhaps not. Love makes people stupid. “I am sorry for your
loss.”

“As I
am sorry for yours,” she says in return, which surprises him. “Sparta must have
a prince. I am to be remarried.” She brings the little girl forward, and she
can’t be more than a couple years old. “This is Urania, the child of myself and
my husband. I have been ordered to kill her.”

Apollo
flinches. He knows such things are done, but – she is Hyacinth’s daughter. “I
will take her.”

She
smiles. “I thought you might.” She kisses the girl on both cheeks, hands her to
Apollo, then leaves as quickly as she’d came.

Urania
watches them with big liquid eyes that she got from her mother. He stays with
his daughters for a year after that, playing with Urania and watching
Terpsichore dance and listening to Calliope’s beautiful poetry. Urania loves
the stars. She stares up at them each night, and Apollo patiently explains the
name of each one.

When
she is fully grown, he begs a piece of ambrosia off Hestia and feeds it to her.

Urania
is his daughter as surely as if his blood ran through her veins. He cannot bear
to watch her age and die.

~

Marpessa
chooses Ida over him, but it is too late. She already swells with his child,
and he could use that to keep her. He could force her to stay at his side, she
loves him, she said so, it would not be such a cruel thing.

But she
is not wrong in her assessment. Apollo is immortal, and will not grow old with
her, will not change with her, will not die with her. Ida will.

There’s
fear on her face, and he thinks she deserves it, for proclaiming to love him
and choosing another. But he is not interested in keeping her captive for a
lifetime.

“Have
the child, and give it to me,” he commands, “and I will leave you to your
life.”

Ida is
furious in his jealousy that Marpessa will bear a child for Apollo before she
bears a child for him, so there is that comfort, at least.

Artemis
delivers the child to ensure it goes smoothly. She’s beaming as she holds her
niece. “What will you call her?”

“You
choose,” he says, running the back of his finger over the babe’s soft cheek.

His
sister considers the squalling child for a long moment before she says, “I
think you should name her Thalia.”

“Thalia
it is,” he says.

She’s
mischievous, and reminds him of himself on his worst days. She grows, and pulls
pranks on nymphs and deities. Her older sisters are constantly straining to
keep her out of worse trouble.

He gets
a frantic message from Calliope that Thalia has gone missing, and he eventually
finds her at the edge of a scorched battlefield, the soldiers long gone but the
bodies and stench remaining. He’s furious at her for going to a place so
dangerous, but when he marches up to her he sees something that he hadn’t
expected.

She’s hallway
through a story about pranking a wood nymph that he knows is at least half lies
and a quarter exaggeration. Curled up on the ground, clutching his stomach as
he laughs so hard he can’t breathe, is Ares.

Apollo
hasn’t seen the tormented god of war this carefree since he was a child.

Ares is
downright giggling. “Hello Thalia,” Apollo crosses his arms and glares,
“You shouldn’t go wandering away from your sisters.” She winces and nods,
ducking her head to look up at him through her eyelashes, doing her best to
look contrite and innocent.

It
might have worked, if Apollo hadn’t taught her that look himself.

He sits
down on the ground next to Ares, who doesn’t acknowledge his presence beyond
shifting enough to use Apollo’s thigh as his pillow. “Well,” Apollo says, “keep
going.”

Thalia
lights up and launches back into the story, and when she finishes she continues
into another which is mostly true and somehow even more ridiculous.

~

Because
he’s an idiot with a death wish, Apollo ends up spending a month
with Hecate in the underworld. He stumbles out one night when she falls asleep,
because he feels if he doesn’t leave now there’s a possibility that he never
will.

One of
the most horrifying moments of his life is looking for the way out, and finding
Hades instead. The god of death looks to him, walking around naked in his
realm, to the direction he came from, and says, “That was you? Are you
crazy?”

“It …
it was a good time,” he says faintly.

“Obviously,”
Hades shakes his head, and slices his hand down in the air in front of them,
creating a doorway for Apollo out of his realm.

Apollo
gives him a clumsy salute and steps through.

Roughly
a year later, he’s playing his lyre when a little girl with black skin and grey
hair and eyes appears in front of him. It’s terrifying enough that he
accidentally snaps one of his strings.

“Lady
Styx,” he says, voice higher pitched than normal. “Is there something I can
help you with?”

The
child snorts and reaches her hands into absolutely nothing and pulls out
a baby. She holds it out to him. “Hecate says this is your problem now.”

Improbably,
the babe already has a mouth full of too-sharp teeth. Her eyes shift between
every color, unable to decide, and there is something a little too knowing
about her face for one so young. Artemis says he too was born knowing too much.

A child
of Apollo and Hecate can only be a mistake, something that will never fit quite
well among others of her own kind.

He
sighs and take the baby. “Very well.”

“I like
the name Clio,” the child goddess says before leaving him.

Thalia
tells him it’s too small and to give it back. Urania is fascinated, and takes
over most of the child’s care, which is likely for the best since Calliope is
neck deep into a new epic, and would be cross if she needed to pull her
attention from it to rear a child.

As Clio
ages, she stays just as unsettling and strange. Hephaestus shows up around the
time she starts breaking into Athena’s libraries, even though stunts like that
get people worse than killed. “I don’t know why she gave her to me,” Apollo
says as they watch the teenager devouring a stolen tome on the history of the
Persian Empire. “Hecate raised you, I don’t understand why she didn’t want to
raise her actual daughter.”

“You’re
a better parent than she is,” he says thoughtfully. Apollo gives him an
unimpressed look, but he says, “I’m serious. Your girls are turning out to be
quite lovely – all of them.”

“Of
course they are,” he says, nose in the air, but grins when Hephaestus elbows
him the side.

By the
time she’s an adult, Clio is easily one of the most accomplished scholars to
ever exist. She and Athena regularly get into academic debates that last weeks,
and scare off anyone from daring to come closer.

She
stays strange, and too smart, and Apollo loves her utterly.

~

Apollo
is lying on the beach when a large wave overtakes him and drags him into the
sea. He struggles for the surface, but can’t seem to shake the waves, and is
dragged to the sea floor. He’s a god, so he won’t suffocate, but he’s terrified
when the water drags him down to Poseidon’s palace and deposits him in front of
his wife. “Apollo,” she says, “I can see what your daughters will become.”

He has
no idea what she’s talking about. “Excuse me?”

Amphitrite
grabs his jaw and pulls him closer. He doesn’t dare resist. She looks into his
eyes, then smirks. “The god of prophecy doesn’t know that which he has wrought.
How … ironic.”

“Is
it?” he wonders. He really hopes she doesn’t kill him.

“Quite,”
she smirks, and with a flick of her wrist she’s naked before him. “I wish for
one of your daughters to be mine as well. Lay with me.”

“Uh,”
he says eloquently, because Amphitrite has never given her husband any
children, he hadn’t even known she could. If he sleeps with her, Poseidon might
kill him, regardless of how many people the god of the sea sleeps with that
aren’t his wife. But if he refuses her, she
might kill him, and it’s not like having sex with Amphitrite is any sort of
hardship. She’s as gorgeous as she is terrifying. “Okay.”

He’s
deposited back on the shore the next day, feeling oddly used.

If
Poseidon has any opinions on Apollo knocking up his wife, he doesn’t voice
them.

Amphitrite
doesn’t foist the baby upon him as soon as she’s born. Instead years pass, and
one day a dark skinned, amber eyed sea god shows up at his door. There’s a
teenager at his side, who has Apollo’s coloring and Amphitrite’s bone
structure, and hair that shimmers golden-green in sunlight. “Glaucus,” Apollo
greets warily, “and who might this be?”

“I call
her Erato,” Glaucus says, “I’ve raised her since birth. It’s time for her to
join her sisters.”

Erato
is not as terrifying as her mother. Instead there’s a sweetness about her that
she must have gotten from Glaucus. She’s shy at first, and spends many days
looking out into the sea. But his daughters are persistent, and soon she’s
laughing and joining them. There’s something dreamy about her, and she loves
love, writes romantic ballads and beautiful poems, so much so that Aphrodite
commends her talent.

Erato
is also the most like him in the area of her love life, meaning she leaves
behind a constant trail of heartbroken men and women.

Calliope
complains about the constant wailing around their home, and Clio proves she has
some of her mother’s talent with magic when she casts an unplotable spell
around their home so former lovers stop following Erato home. Of course, she
forgets to tell both Apollo and her sisters about this, and it’s very confusing
for everyone until Clio remembers to tell them where the house is.

His
daughters’ home is a place of constant music, poetry, and literature. He thinks
he’s starting to suspect what Amphitrite was talking about.

~

Not all
hunts are easy things.

Apollo
feels the moment his sister is wounded, the arrow through her abdomen as
painful for him as it is for her. He’s in his chariot, and he can’t leave it,
if he leaves his chariot unattended the sun will consume it, and then consume
the earth. “Calliope!” he snaps, and his eldest daughter appears by his side.

“Father?”
she asks, huddling into him and away from the sun. “What’s going on?”

“Artemis
is hurt, I have to help,” he says urgently, and places the reins into her
hands. “You can do this.”

She
pales, but steps forward, keeping a white knuckled grip on the chariot. “Go.”

He
kisses his forehead, and goes to his sister. Her huntresses have set up an
honor guard around her, defending and dying as cruel faced giants draws closer.
“ARES!” he screams, and he doesn’t know what they’re fighting for, what this
war is about, but it doesn’t matter. “WE NEED YOU!”

The god
of war appears, and he’s clearly come from some other battle, covered in mud
and other worse things. He throws himself into the battle, but it’s not until
they gain more aid that the tides turn in their favor.

He
first sees Erato on the field, water swirling around her as she slices through
them all, the power of her mother making her golden eyes glow. Clio is at her
back, the glittering magic Hecate passed on to her filling her hands.

Thalia
has long curved knives flying from her fingers, and all who face her don’t
figure out they’re dead until she’s already left them behind. Urania is letting
loose arrows against the giants and though she’s not his by blood, not a
goddess by birth, none would know it watching each of her arrows hit true and
take down another enemy.

Terpsichore
uses her honed abilities of dance differently here on the battlefield, twirling
and ducking around enemies with her sword flashing as it slices through all who
go against her. Celestial fire licks up the sword, and the daughter of Hestia
and Apollo is laughing as she dances through the battlefield.

He
wants to yell at them, to tell them to get off the battlefield, to get to
safety. But it is thanks to them that the fight is being won, so he says
nothing.

Ares
looks around, grimaces, and catches Apollo’s eye before he disappears from the
battle. They must be invoking his name. Apollo is only grateful he managed to
stay as long as he did.

The
giants are all dead by the time Apollo manages to make it to his sister’s side.
She’s pale and covered in blood, her huntresses seated around her and trying to
stop the bleeding. “What were you thinking?” Apollo demands, grabbing her hand
and pushing her hair from her forehead. Terpsichore comes forward and lays her
burning sword against the wound, sealing and cauterizing it at once. Both
Apollo and Artemis scream

“They –
took – a – child,” she pants, leaning in for his touch, for his comfort, and he
has never been able to deny her anything. He pulls her up, biting back a scream
at the pain that rips through them both, and props her up against his chest. “A
– nymph’s child. Zeus’s child. They killed – it’s mother. That – that sort of
injustice will – will not be – tolerated.” She lays her head back against his
shoulder, tears leaking from the corner of her eyes, and Apollo almost wishes
the battle were not over, because he wants to murder something.

“I’ll
get it,” Erato says, and a moment later she returns with a toddler in her arms.
She has the copper skin of Zeus, and pale blonde hair. “What do we do now? Zeus
does not care for his children.”

It’s
then that the sun finally sets, and Calliope stumbles into existence next to
them. She’s covered in deep, bleeding burns, but it’s not as bad he feared it would
be. She’s certainly faired better at her first time driving the chariot than he
had. “What’s happening? Is everything all right?”

“We
have a new sister,” Thalia says brightly, even as Clio rushes forward to tend
to her burns.

Euterpe,
thankfully, seems to inherit none of Zeus’s madness. She has a singing voice
like a clear bell, and soon surpasses even Calliope’s talent with the lyre.

He
knows, technically, that Euterpe is his half-sister. But it takes him no time
at all to regard her as his daughter, to love her with same simple ferocity as he
loves her sisters.

~

For a
while, all is well, is quiet. His daughters are all fully grown, accomplished
and beautiful.

Then
Demeter corners him when he’s walking through quiet city and pins him against
an alley wall. “If Amphitrite thinks she can one up me over this,” the goddess
hisses, “she’s sorely mistaken.”

At
least this time he knows what’s going on when Demeter starts pulling her dress
off. “You can’t raise the child,” he says. He’s not adverse to laying with
Demeter, although at this rate it looks like there will be less laying and more
standing against a rough alley wall. But Demeter only knows how to love in a
way that crushes all it touches. He won’t let her do that to his child.

“Fine,”
she snaps, “Now get moving.”

He’s
vaguely terrified the whole time, and it mostly reminds him of his month with
Hecate. He’s left alone and naked in the alleyway an hour later.

Nine
months later, a baby is delivered to his door by a nervous wood nymph. His
daughter still has the squashed appearance of a freshly born baby. “She didn’t
waste any time,” he comments, settling her into the crook of his arms. “Does
she have a name?”

“Polyhymnia,
my lord,” the wood nymph says, then bows before fleeing.

He
brings her to the home where all his daughters live.

She
grows, and she’s the spitting image of Demeter, of Persephone back when she
answered to the name Kore. Her voice is lower than Euterpe’s, but just as pretty
and when they sing together it’s the most beautiful sound he’s ever heard.
She’s quiet, and thoughtful, her big brown eyes watching all around her with a
measured stare.

Polyhymnia
asks after her mother, something none of the others had done, and Apollo
doesn’t know what to say. The truth is too callous, but he can’t bear to lie to
her. Instead he begs an audience with Persephone, and says, “Your sister asks
after the mother you share. I don’t know what to tell her.”

Persephone
has no advice to offer, but she starts spending some of her time outside of the
underworld with Polyhymnia. It is enough, and her questions stop, and Apollo
tries not to feel guilty that he never really answered them.

~

Cassandra
is unlike any woman he’s ever met, unlike any person he’s ever met, and the
flames of love and passion burn inside him in a way they haven’t since his
Hyacinth died.

She’s
bull headed and irritating, and whenever he tries to complain about it Artemis
rolls her eyes and his daughters laugh at him. He supposes he’s not doing a
very good job hiding that he’s in love with her. Not even from her, because at
one point she crossly asks if he’s ever planning to do anything with her, or if
she should accept the offer from the butcher’s son.

They
don’t leave her house for five days.

She is
curious, hungry for knowledge, hungrier for it then she is of him. She wants to
know impossible things, wants to be an impossible thing, and so Apollo laughs
and takes her hand and says, “I will make you a bargain. I will give you the
gift of prophecy, if you will grant me the gift of your hand.”

He’s
never take a bride before. He hasn’t wanted to.

Cassandra
is screaming and laughing, and she throws her arms around his neck and kisses
him until she’s breathless. He takes it as a yes.

That’s
when everything goes horribly, incredibly wrong.

It’s
too much, all the horror she sees is too much, and Apollo tries to tell her to
focus on the good, to see the happiness of the future. But she can’t, gets too
caught up in too many wars, and she wastes away in front of his eyes even as
her stomach swells.

He
tries to take back the gift, tries to save her, but he can’t. It cannot be
ungiven, and his headstrong, vivacious lover fades before his eyes. He only
manages to alter it, to change it so no one believes the horrible things she cries
to prevent the horror people feel when she looks at them and screams the way
that they’ll die.

Artemis
helps deliver their child, but halfway through her face goes pinched and
worried, and Apollo knows that Cassandra won’t make it.

“I’m
sorry,” he weeps, kissing her gaunt face, feeling the sharpness of her
cheekbones under his lips, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t know this would happen. I didn’t
want this to happen.”

She
looks at him with glassy eyes, barely reacts when Artemis places their child on
her chest. There’s a growing pool of blood under her, but she can’t be saved,
she will die, here, now.

Apollo
wonders if she saw this coming.

She
blinks, and meets his gaze with a sharpness and awareness he hasn’t seen for a
long time. “She is your last daughter,” Cassandra says, “Melpomene is the last
daughter you will have.”

He
kisses her, his last chance to do so.

She’s
dead before his lips leaves hers.

Apollo
tries to flee, to run from the claws tearing apart his heart, but Artemis
doesn’t let him. She yanks him back and pushes Melpomene into his arms. “You
can’t leave,” she says harshly, “She needs you. Your daughter needs you. You’re
not allowed to run.”

He
crumples, leaning his head onto his sister’s shoulder as he sobs, and her
calloused hand grasps the back of his neck. Melpomene is stuck between them,
soft and warm and alive.

Time
passes.

Melpomene
is Thalia’s other half, her best friend, and they do everything together. Her
dark hair is a mass of unruly curls just like her mother, her laughter is just like
her mother’s.

(3/3) “The doctors discovered a tumor on Mom’s spine in 2007. She spent four years being really sick. First she couldn’t walk. Then she couldn’t move her arms, or her hands. When she died she could only move her head. My father took care of her. I don’t think there was emotion involved. I think he was just concerned about doing the correct thing. He’d openly say: ‘I hate this so much.’ But he did it. Mom died three years ago. When she realized she didn’t have much time, she really encouraged me to get closer to my siblings. She also encouraged me to travel. She’d say: ‘Go explore. Forget about me. You’re different. I want you to find people like you.’ She was always so worried about me being alone. And sometimes I do feel alone now that she’s gone. I don’t know who to call when I accomplish something. I miss her so much. But I always try to be like her. My whole life I’ve tried to be like her. I can be shy. I can isolate myself. Sometimes I remind myself of my father. But I have always tried to be my mother.”

I have been a quiet Sasusaku shipper for a while, but I want to share some of my thoughts about the current episode. We haven’t gotten the Uchiha family together in a while, so I wanted to celebrate this episode with my interpretation of some key scenes. I had a lot of feels in this episode so this is a long read 😂😂.

Sasuke Reunites with Sarada: In this scene, obviously, Sasuke is regretting not being
able to recognize Sarada after they had reunited after so long. He’s obviously
been too caught up in his mission and never imagined that Sarada would
unexpectedly appear in front of him. Not only that but he threatened her with a
sword and saw the fear in her eyes and her Sharingan activated. Maybe a part of
him imagined that when they would finally reunite as a family, he would be free
from his mission and duty and they can finally all be happy together.
Accidentally threatening his daughter with a sword was not his dream of their
reunion and he is angry and regrets this lost chance.

Unfortunately, he knows that he doesn’t have the luxury to comfort her because of the looming threat over their heads, so he pushes her away to protect her. He questions Naruto about why Sarada is here, which Sarada interprets as her father not wanting her to be there.

Sarada doesn’t understand the Uchiha connection and how their hearts are connected even with distance, a distance needed in order to protect her. She starts attacking him and questioning whether he cares about his family at all, and Sasuke is shaken by her words and how he is being misunderstood in that way. Sarada resents him, which he expected, but was not prepared for.

Especially having her in front of him unexpectedly and given the situation of their reunion, Sasuke is being consumed by guilt and simultaneously a longing to return to his family after seeing Sarada all grown up.

Sasuke and Naruto discussing Sarada: Like Naruto had said before he had left on his mission…

Sasuke is so misunderstood as a character because his
intentions in this scene are pure, but he struggles with communicating these
intentions with the people he loves (in this case Sarada). He is being so selfless in this scene,
giving up the opportunity to be next to his family to protect them and the
village, going on the mission alone so that Naruto wouldn’t have to leave his
own, while keeping it a secret so that Sarada won’t unnecessarily worry about him
and his safety. Even if he is misunderstood and Sarada resents him, it is more
important to keep her future and Konoha’s future safe (bright).

Side Note: I was also
livid that the Kage Summit was not animated as well. That scene was SO important, especially for those who didn’t read the manga, but what can we do about SP?
I am trying to remain positive.
Obviously, it happened before this scene which is right before he is leaving on his mission. Naruto asks only about
Sarada, which means that Sakura is well-aware of his mission and his reasons. Plus, I kind of liked how
they highlighted Sasuke’s relationship with Sarada and his reasons for keeping it a secret from her.

I had mixed feelings about this scene. I find this scene sad
because Sasuke almost ended the world in order to fight for his family, and now
that he finally has one, he is unable to be there with them because of his
mission to keep them safe. It’s such a sad circle because Itachi pushed Sasuke
away to protect him and the village and now he is doing the same with his
daughter, all along with the additional knowledge of how it hurts to be on the
other end being pushed away. He understands Sarada’s resentment well and has
regrets about not being able to be there for her, but I feel like he is trying
to convince himself of the importance of his mission in this scene and how
everything will be okay if he keeps them safe from the outside while Sakura is
there to take care of and protect Sarada from the inside. He obviously trusts and
has faith in Sakura to take care of Sarada when is away (a part of him maybe
even believing that Sarada is better off in Sakura’s care than his own because he will never fully forgive himself for his past), but he
is trying to conceal the part of him which regrets not being there next to
them.

Sasusaku Reunite: His regrets are further elaborated when Sakura enters.

Here is where the Uchiha connection/Sasusaku connection is beautifully portrayed. First off, when he asks Sakura the same question about why she’s here like he did about Sarada, unlike Sarada, Sakura just smiles at him being well experienced with Sasuke’s method of communication. Just one look, and she understands that Sasuke is worried about why they are here near him where danger looms when they should be safe in the village.

I
know people are angry over how dramatic this next scene was and how it seemed
like Sakura was ignoring him, but I personally didn’t interpret it that way. This
scene just KILLED ME with feels. The way I interpreted it, Sasuke is regretting
how everything went down with his reunion with Sarada. He is struggling with his emotions after seeing his wife and daughter after so long so he shoots his wife a look…

If there is one person who understands Sasuke and his silent pleas for help, it would be his wife Sakura. Sakura obviously misses him after all this time apart (Ino vacation date reminiscing scene) but she selflessly puts her daughter and husband’s feelings first in this scene and holds back her own. She’s the emotional anchor in the family and Sasuke is lucky to have her because she understands Sasuke’s true intentions better than anybody else. I find it beautiful that the Sasuke who keeps to himself has truly allowed himself to depend on another person. That’s why he trusts and depends on Sakura to take care of things with Sarada when he’s gone and here again he is pleading for her help. Sakura sees in his eyes her husband’s love and longing for their family. She coped with the distance better than Sarada because she understands the Uchiha connection and how Sasuke and their family are connected by hearts even through the distance. Despite being away from each other so long, their connection and bond is stronger than ever and one look from her husband and Sakura immediately
understands his pain, regret, and apology in regards to Sarada and their family. Being the amazing wife she is, she wants to put her husband’s worries to ease (like she’s done all this time when he was away) so she shoots him a quick smile, takes over and
walks past him to Sarada to comfort her in his stead.

Additionally, the way I interpreted it, the reason why the scene was edited to seem
dramatic with her walking past him was because it represents the current
disconnect Sasuke feels from his daughter. Obviously, the Uchihas’ hearts are
connected even with the distance which Sakura understands, but Sarada is too
young to and Sasuke doesn’t expect her to. As Sakura is walking passed him, his feet remain planted to the same spot because while Sakura can walk passed him and comfort Sarada, he is “stuck” in the same place.
She has questions about his absence which he cannot answer. He just threatened her with his sword and saw the look of fear in her eyes, but he cannot comfort her with answers without fully disclosing the truth about his mission and putting her in further danger. When Sasuke sees Naruto outside of the village, he tells him to deliver an apology in his place to Sakura. Uchihas value family bonds more than anything else, his family is obviously always on his mind, and Sasuke is trying so hard to conceal how much he needs to be next to them. He longs to be with his family, next to his wife and wants to run over to Sarada to embrace her, but there needs to be a distance between them until his mission is complete.

When Naruto questioned him if Sarada’s resentment towards him was worth it, he convinced himself that if it meant he can keep his family safe and the future “bright,” that’s only thing that mattered. However, as he looks back to Sakura hugging Sarada, you can see the look of regret on his face. He
is her father and should be able to comfort her in her time of confusion like
Sakura is doing, but he can’t be honest to Sarada and there for his family in the present without
compromising his mission to keep them safe.

He is trying to convince himself that this is what is best situation in order to keep his family safe, but he is affected by Sarada’s pain and the distance from his family as much as Sakura and Sarada are, if not more. It is heartbreaking how he blames himself for his family’s pain due to his absence, even if his absence is to protect them.

I frankly don’t understand claims that Sasuke doesn’t love or care about his family. This episode proved that he is willing to sacrifice everything in order to keep them safe and protects them at the cost of his own happiness. Of course, that’s expected from a Uchiha who always puts family #1.

I needed her you know? She was my best friend and i loved her. Not in a romantic way, it wasn’t like that. But she was the person i went to when i was too sad to say a word, or so tired that i could not sleep. I needed her like an inhaler to help me breathe.
And now the weight of the world is sitting on my chest.

-Being economically successful, Feyre’s father is close friends with the High Lord. Both their respective wife and mate have children around the same time.

-The Merchant’s daughter and the High Lord’s son are practically raised in unison.

-They nap together. They take their first steps together. They’re potty-trained together. They share toys as toddlers. They finger paint together. They take naps together. They take lessons from Rhys’s mother. Basically, they live together.

-When they’re 3 months old, they’re sharing a crib and boom the bond clicks. Though, not so boom because they’re babies and they don’t feel it.

- Their parents don’t know because the only thing they notice is that their kids are now sleeping right next to each other.

-They become an iconic childhood duo.

-The one thing everyone wonders, though, as the two run down the Rainbow, is “When is their mate bond gonna snap?”

-Feyre and Rhys can’t tell, they just believe that this is what a best friend is supposed to be like, since Rhys’s parents are their only mate example.

-When Rhys starts to learn how to fly, Feyre is pissed. Her dialogue for two weeks is a relentless stream of “This is not fair.” “Why do you get to fly?” “You’re not even grateful, you prick.” “I want to fly.” “Why can’t you take me with you?”

-Rhys, being a child, sticks his tongue out at her.

-Momma Rhys watches from the kitchen. Once Feyre storms out, she calls to Rhys, “You are not my boy if you don’t go out of your way to take a female in your life flying.”

-Momma trains her son real quick in the art of carrying someone else while flying.

-The dispute is solved.

-After years of the best childhood ever, Rhys’s mom declares that she’s raising her son as an Illyrian.

-Feyre and Rhys say their goodbyes, and when he’s finally gone it hurts.

The moment you laid eyes on Thomas you knew you wanted him. It was an instant attraction. You gravitated towards him before you even realized your feet were moving, the second he stepped in the room. He seemed to feel the same, his whiskey eyes following your every movement. There was only one problem. Brenda.

high school supercorp au. kara struggling to keep her superpowers at bay around the pretty super nerd. kara hasn’t grown into her hero image yet & lena hasn’t grown into her name.

There’s a giant leading me to God knows whereI’ve got news, I’m going my wayFighting, and I feel I’m getting somewhereAll is right, all is right.

From high atop the water tower on the very edge of town, a shadow sat, pushing up her glasses as they fell slightly down the bridge of her nose. Just below, an entire city stretched out toward the sea, the lights bleeding into it, which then bled into the horizon, into the very sky itself. Down by the boardwalk, someone was throwing away old bread and cotton candy while the gulls gulped them down with contented caws that got lodged in their noses. The smell of the freshly cut, end-of-summer lawns wafted through the night, perfuming the last night of summer break perfectly.

I’ve been falling in love with girls since before I even knew falling in love with girls was something I was allowed to do. Sometimes, these girls’ lives would intertwine with mine for just a fractional part of our lives - the girl I met in the park once when I was eight, with her long blonde hair, for example, or the girl with the stunning blue eyes at the week long gymnastics camp I’d gone to that summer. Other times, they’d be in my life for the long haul, like the girl who was in my class the whole way through primary school who made my heart beat faster every time I asked for one of her felt pens. Or the girl in Mrs C’s class with the smile I couldn’t help but stare at every time I looked at yearbook photos. Now and again, they’d be sort of inbetween - my violin teacher, who I saw once a week who sort of smelled like jasmine, or the girl in the year above me who always wore Converse to school even though we weren’t allowed. When she graduated a year before me, I missed seeing her brown curls bounce as she walked into assembly every Wednesday morning.

But yet, this love never seemed like love. “What was love?” I asked myself when I was ten or eleven. Love was what I felt for the boy in the pantomime I’d gone to see who was decently attractive and around my age. Love was what I felt for the boy in my form class in first year. “I could love him,” I told myself as the sunlight hit his face one Tuesday morning in Home Ec. Love was what I felt for boys, what I’d have felt for my boyfriend had I been pretty enough to get one, what I’d feel for my husband when I got older. But I never really did feel it.

What if love to me was what I felt for the girl who sat across from me in Biology who was so beautiful I became “jealous” of her? What if love was why I couldn’t help staring at that third year girl every Thursday afternoon as we passed in the corridor before Maths? What if love to me meant girls?

I mean, I had pondered why girls had to love smelly old boys in the canteen line aged six. Eventually, I acknowledged that my brief infatuation with other girls was, in fact, infatuation.

From my violin teacher, the girl in the park, the girl in my class when I was seven, eight, nine, to the waitress at that restaurant in town who said my shirt was cute last week. To the girl who’d said my eyes were pretty on Instagram on Wednesday. To the girl in the changing rooms before netball practice yesterday who said my long hair was beautiful.

I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving girls. And yeah, sometimes it shocks me how the strength of my love didn’t break through the secrets and the lies and gravitate me towards that realisation sooner, but I guess the only thing that can bury love that strong is hate even stronger.

Hi! First off, I want to say that I like your take on the situations and your writing. Could I perhaps request something? It has to do with the end of Jumin's 10th day. When V comes and picks us up he says that we'll be safe at the apartment. Could you perhaps write how the RFA + V would feel if MC was kidnapped by Unknown after she got to the apartment? It's very angsty, but oh well. If you can't write it then that's fine. Thanks!

This is an interesting request! I don’t think
I’ve really written much angst since I got to this blog… (well. Granted, it’s
only been 2 weeks.) I’d like to write more angst—send in asks, guys, haha! Let
me practise and get better for you all <3

By the way, I love how you refer to MC as “us”!!
Anyway, I hope this meets your expectations ^~^”

“Thanks
for bringing me back, V!” you bid him goodbye,
and walked off into the apartment. Your keys jingled as you unlocked the door,
and you felt a wave of nostalgia wash over you. You hadn’t lived in this
apartment very long, and you’d only been gone for a few days, but you already
felt attached to this place.

The lights flickered on, and you smiled at the
familiar sight of the living room. It was just as you had left i- huh?

The light switched off, and you freaked out a
bit as it became pitch black.

Using your phone’s flashlight, you searched for
the light switch, hoping it would work properly. Could the light bulb have gone
out in the few days you’d been away?

To your relief, the lights turned back on, and
you sighed. You would have had to change the light in the dark, otherwise.

But when you turned around, your relief was cut
short.

A masked person with bleached hair stood in
front of you, dressed in black, leather clothing. He had a tattoo on his arm,
and teal eyes that stared right back at you.

“Wel – come home!” he greeted you mockingly in
a creepy tone. “Too bad you’ll be leaving again. You must be tired, hm?”

No. No. V had said you would be safe.

“I need you
to swear to me. Considering all the secrets you know, is MC safe?” Jumin
demanded, a concerned undertone in his voice. It was clear that he was already
close to giving in to V’s request, but he was still reluctant in letting you
go.

“Swear…” V
replied tiredly.

“I tend to
believe numbers more than words, but if you are sincere, I’ll believe you.”

“Alright. I
swear that MC will be absolutely safe on my life. Is that enough?” V had said.

V had promised you’d be safe. HE SWORE YOU’D BE
SAFE. So why? Who was this man in your apartment? Why was he waiting for you?
What did he want?

A blurry of thoughts passed through your mind.
But none of these questions would be answered. You were knocked out, and soon
met darkness. Betrayal was the last emotion you felt before everything faded to
black.

Yoosung

V had lied. Again.

It was the second time he’d lost someone, and
both times it was because V was careless.

You had gone missing, and even when Yoosung
begged and begged Seven, you could not be found. Seven really did try to find
you, but all traces of your disappearance had been skillfully erased

Yoosung snapped.

He screamed at V, pushing and shoving him to
the wall.

“WHY MUST I LOSE EVERYONE WHO BECOMES IMPORTANT
TO ME BECAUSE OF YOU? First Rika… Now MC… SHE TRUSTED US. IT WAS YOU WHO LET
HER JOIN THE RFA. IT WAS YOU WHO SAID IT WAS SAFE. YOU SAID IT WAS SAFE FOR HER
TO GO HOME! YOU SWORE WITH YOUR LIFE, V, YOU SWORE!”

Yoosung was a mess at this point, sobbing into
his knees. He had his hands on his head, looking as betrayed as he felt.

His voice quieted down to a whimper, “You swore
with your life, V. So why are you still here?” He laughed humourlessly, eyes
glazed over coldly.

“You lied, V,” he choked on his tears, “You
lied, again.”

Zen

He tried to stay optimistic, he really did.

“Seven, you can hack into anything, right?
You’ve infiltrated countries, this should be a piece of cake, right?”

But he couldn’t hide the fact that he was only
desperately holding on.

He’s an actor, so he should have been able to
act like he was okay. He should’ve been able to act like this didn’t affect
him. But it did.

You had always been so supportive of his acting
career, despite hardly knowing him. He’d genuinely felt a connection with you.
And he respected you for being able to tolerate Jumin Han, the man he despised.
And now you had been kidnapped.

Your disappearance hit him so hard, he got
drunk every night, and he was so hungover in the mornings, he couldn’t even go to rehearsals.

He went for long, LONG rides on his motorcycle.
He couldn’t sleep.

He hadn’t even known you for that long, but it
just hit him so hard.

Why did good
people like you have to suffer bad experiences?

He just couldn’t understand.

Jaehee

God.

You know, she had been working under Jumin for
so long, she had become unable to express herself and her own desires. Her
first priority had always been her work, and she was generally emotionless and
went along with her orders.

Until you
had come along.

You had really talked to her. Not formal
business talk, or careless small talk, but you had REALLY talked to her. You had listened to her.

Jaehee had always had to listen to Jumin,
listen to her boss, listen to orders, listen to her colleagues making fun of
her for being so busy, listen to Seven’s bullshit… It had always been her who
listened to others. But not you.

YOU asked for her opinions, and you would agree
with her at times. You really took an interest in her interests and hobbies,
like her coffee and watching Zen’s plays. You… you had been her friend.

And she’d already lost you.

She still had to go to work, and she was just
as efficient, but if someone really paid attention, one would find a tired
Jaehee burying her face into her hands in stress every now and then. Aha. Not
that anyone would pay attention now. You had been the only person who seemed to
care, and you were already gone.

V

(I wasn’t sure how to write this, since I
didn’t know if he should be aware of Mint Eye or not… I decided against it. It
can be requested though..)

He blamed himself more than anyone else could.

You had trusted him and his words, and he had completely
betrayed your trust.

He had never wanted you to be in danger. God,
no. You were innocent in the entire situation. You had been dragged into this
all because of him. All because he had agreed to let you join the RFA.

You could’ve been safe at Jumin’s apartment. So
what if Jumin was a little possessive? Your safety would’ve been guaranteed.
There were bodyguards to protect you there, and there would definitely be more
evidence to work with.

V had been the last person to see you, as he
had been the one to drop you off at the apartment. He should’ve walked inside
with you. He should’ve checked the apartment before he left.

Instead, he’d pushed all responsibility to
Seven, foolishly believing that Seven would be able to watch after her from the
security cameras.

V hated himself for letting you down. For
letting everyone down.

Jumin

He had trusted V.

V had never, ever lied to him, and he was fully
aware that V was a kind man, and had no bad intentions.

So when V had sworn that you would be safe at
the apartment, Jumin let you go.

… He should’ve trusted his own instincts.

But he didn’t blame V.

All these years, V had remained by his side,
through thick and thin. V had always been more considerate of others than
himself, and Jumin felt that he was a good friend. His best friend, even.

On one hand, he knew that it wasn’t V’s fault.
How could it have been predicted that you would be kidnapped? On the other
hand, shouldn’t V have checked more carefully that it was safe for you to
return to the apartment?

Jumin buried himself in work, silently taking
on difficult tasks in a large quantity. He didn’t want to think about it. He
didn’t want to doubt V. He didn’t want to worry about you. He just didn’t want
to feel, and he didn’t want to think.

But every day he got home, he was reminded of
you.

The clothes he had bought for you that you left
behind… the laundry that you forgot to wash… the dishes you had used… the way
you had played with Elizabeth the 3rd… the way you had laid down
comfortably on the couch…

He kept your bedroom the way you had left it,
locking it shut. When he’d seen a maid trying to open the door one morning, he
ended up snapping at her, “DON’T TOUCH IT. Don’t even taint the doorknob with
your filthy hands, goddammit! Get away from the door. GET OUT!”

Some nights, he gave into his emotions,
drunkenly calling RFA members and
begging them to return you to him. To stop hiding you. To stop pretending
you were missing.

He wished it was pretend.

Even Zen felt tears brim in his eyes when he
heard the broken tone and tears in Jumin’s voice.

He missed you.

They all missed you.

Seven

He couldn’t even be bothered to continue his
cheery, annoying act after you disappeared.

He turned away all of Vanderwood’s missions,
ignoring it completely.

Instead, Seven spent hours upon hours, days
upon days locked up in his room, searching every tenth of a millisecond of the
security camera’s feed. He kept trying to find clues of your kidnapping. He
hacked into the city’s cameras to find the car you were in, but to no avail, there was nothing.

Seven lost his appetite for even Honey Buddha
Chips, throwing it up when he tried to force them in his mouth. He was living
on purely Dr. Pepper now, and god knows when he’ll get tired of that, too.

Seven was simply devastated.

He felt responsible for your disappearance. He
should’ve been more careful.

He could’ve attached a GPS to your body, not
just your phone. He could’ve installed more security cameras, even if it
invaded your privacy. Security > privacy. He could’ve gone to your apartment
to protect you, instead of cowardly hiding behind the screens.

Could’ve.

But didn’t.

It was too late.

He could never protect anyone. Not his mother,
not his twin brother, not you.

Jon tried not to be bitter that Ghost spent more time with Dany than he did with him.

As soon as they’d reached Winterfell, Ghost had grown attached to the Dragon Queen. He followed her around when he wasn’t out on a hunt, sat by her side during meetings, and even slept between them at night. Of course, he still liked Jon-but Jon suspected that was because he gave him food.

At first Dany hadn’t liked Ghost. He always smelled like snow and wet fur, and he was always trying to get attention-but slowly he’d grown on her. Now she would complain about him in public, but Jon would see her sneaking him bits of food after meals or scratching him behind his ears so that he closed his eyes in pleasure.

But then again, he had Rhaegal-who sometimes acted more like a dog than Ghost did. He always wanted to play, or go for a ride-and Jon found himself spending more and more time outside with him and Viserion.

At first he thought the animals being protective of her was just a side effect of the war-Ghost whined whenever they went on raids and even the dragons always seemed tense, as if they were ready to leave on a moment’s notice to rescue her should a mission go wrong. The dragons saw her as a motherly figure, and Ghost liked her just because. It was only natural that they would sense the danger she put herself in, constantly. He felt the same way. He always wanted her to stay back at Winterfell, where there was a better chance she’d be safe. But ever since the first wight hunt she always insisted she had to go with him, just in case.

Then they started trying to protect her even at Winterfell. The dragons went from being gone most of the day hunting to spending most of their days slinking around the castle grounds, terrifying everyone. They were dragons; they couldn’t exactly lurk, but they seemed determined to try. One morning one of Jon’s generals woke him up early because Rhaegal was sitting lightly on the castle ramparts, looking almost like a cat as he looked around alertly. He growled at anyone who passed by, looking almost like he was glaring at them.

In the bed next to him Daenerys stirred and looked up at him sleepily. “’s going on?”

“Rhaegal is causing a scene. Talk him down?”

She groaned, pulling on a light blue dressing gown and putting on her winter coat over it. She still looked beautiful, even though she’d just gotten out of bed. “I’ll handle it.”

They went outside, bracing themselves against the biting cold. Jon barely got a glimpse of Sansa and Arya emerging from the other side of the castle before he saw Rhaegal, who was stubbornly refusing to move-and no one was particularly trying to provoke him. But Dany strode up to him, fearlessly; he couldn’t help raising an eyebrow as he saw her, less than an eighth of the dragon’s size, yell at him in High Valyrian until he finally got up and flew away-almost knocking off the top of a tower on his way.

She had to chase off the dragons on at least three other occasions in the next several weeks, interspersed with bouts of illness.

It was strange; she claimed that she’d never been sick before. She certainly seemed not to know how to react when she woke up with such a bad headache that she couldn’t go to their daily morning debriefings, or when she took two bites of meat stew and had to run to the privy before she threw it all up. Ghost didn’t leave her side; he sat next to her at mealtimes and followed her like a shifting shadow whenever she and Jon went to train or congregated in the map room to discuss strategy.

Of course, some of these ‘strategy’ sessions often devolved into passionate lovemaking.

Once Viserion tried to accompany them on one of their raids and it took nearly half an hour for Dany to convince him to stay behind (they couldn’t exactly sneak up on the wights with a giant fire breathing dragon lurking in the background). By the time they’d finally gotten that straightened out they’d lost their opportunity and they’d had to concede; more than a few of Jon’s fellow rangers complained about the dragons (in low voices, of course; they didn’t have a death wish).

“We have to do something about this.” Ghost had gone more than two weeks without hunting at night; he followed them into the bedroom as soon as they went to bed and didn’t leave until morning. He liked to sleep in between them, taking up as much space as he could (at least, Jon was convinced that was his motive). “I know your dragons are protective but-”

“They’re getting out of hand. I know.” Dany leaned back and looked up at the ceiling; she looked very pale and Jon couldn’t help remembering that she’d thrown up only a few hours before and hadn’t gotten her coloring back yet. “I’ve been trying to get through to them, they just won’t listen.”

“They never cared this much before.”

Dany didn’t say anything, and for a moment he thought she’d already fallen asleep. “Is there a reason for it, do you think?”

“Maybe they’re just getting separation anxiety.”

She looked like she wanted to hit him with a pillow but had determined it would take too much effort. “Somehow I don’t think that’s it. And the raids aren’t any more dangerous than they were a few weeks ago.” They lapsed into silence again. “Jon, I think I’m going to be sick again.”

He sat up, almost pushing Ghost off the bed on accident. “Are you sure you’re all right? This is hardly the first time.”

“I’m fine.” But he could hear the anxiety in her voice; she never got sick. Ever. “I’ll talk to a maester tomorrow.”

Jon still slept uneasily that night, slipping in and out of nightmares until the sunlight streaming through the window finally woke him up. Dany and Ghost were already gone and the bed next to him was cold; when he saw the basin on the washstand was missing he realized that she’d gotten sick again overnight.

Jon was surprised when the news came out-but not all that surprised. They’d made love more than a few times in the past couple of months.

And now Dany was pregnant.

Of course they made arrangements after that-Dany no longer went out on raids unless it was absolutely necessary and although she often resented being stuck in Winterfell she didn’t usually fight him on it unless it was absolutely necessary. She still went out more than he wanted her to, but between them and the rest of his men they managed to keep her out of harm’s way.

The animals’ strange behavior subsided slightly after that. Ghost went hunting at nights again and the dragons stayed outside the castle grounds. They were still watchful of Dany but they were no longer a nuisance to everyone around them.

“They knew they’ll be getting a younger brother or sister,” Dany said one night a couple of months later. Ghost was sleeping with them again; she scratched him under the chin and murmured sweet nothings to him absently. “Even before we did.”

“They’re strange beasts, aren’t they?” He could hear the dragons outside, singing their night songs as they hunted in the darkness.

“They’re family,” she replied, reaching a hand across Ghost’s furry back to ruffle his hair.

“That they are.” They weren’t exactly a normal couple; who said their animal companions would be normal either?

Dragons and direwolves are my favorite things ever. Especially dragon and direwolf bonding. I need to write more headcanons.

Summary; A whole week has passed since Jungkook was forced to leave your apartment, just before you could take your relationship with him to the next level. But today at the office, things become interesting yet again - for both you, and Jungkook.

You didn’t really know Harry. He had lived
two doors down from you for the last 8 months. He had introduced himself to you
when you had moved in and you frequently saw each other while entering and
exiting the apartment building but you didn’t really know much about him.
However with your frequent interactions, your daughter had become quite fond of
him, especially because he was so nice to her and gave her a funny face or a
big smile on the way past. She had even on occasion asked to visit him when she
was bored, but had never really acted on it. She was only three after all; she
didn’t really understand he was a stranger.

After a long stressful day of work, it had
been a lot more stressful then usual, (difficult clients were the worst) and
you had just picked up your daughter from day care. It was very late and you
were very tired, and looking after a three year old on top of all that was
hard, but you did it because she was the best thing that ever happened to you.
Her father wasn’t in the picture, so you shared your little apartment with her
and all her soft toys, and that was the way you liked it.

You got her situated in the living room
with a bowl of pasta and went into the bedroom to get changed into something
more comfortable, but instead decided to rest your head on the pillow for a
moment. Only a moment later you’d fallen asleep.

After a while your daughter got restless.
She hadn’t seen her mummy around for a while. She got up and checked the
kitchen, and again the living room but couldn’t find you. When she was eating
she was so used to you being in the room with her, that she couldn’t even think
of where else you could be.

She began to get scared and upset, and
didn’t have anyone to help her. That’s when she thought of Harry.

She stood up on her tippy toes, reaching
for the door handle, and walked down the hall to his front door, softly
knocking.

At first Harry thought he was hearing
things. He had the TV on, but he was mostly looking at his phone, and the knock
had been so soft he could have missed it. However when he heard it again he got
up to investigate.

Opening the door he sees your daughter, at
first he smiles but then is a little confused because firstly you are not there
and secondly your front door in wide open.

A/N: My idea for this fic changed a few times because I came up with a series idea….so enjoy the fluff while you can. The relationship between the reader & Jensen has a lot of inspiration from the one I share with my brother-in-law. I basically took something that happened with me & my brother-in-law & adjusted it to fit this story. Enjoy.

Jensen x Sister!Reader

You were scrolling through Facebook while laying on the bed at your brother’s house when JJ came strolling into your room. Looking up from the conversation you were having with your friend on chat you shot JJ a confused look. She looked upset, an emotion you rarely saw on the happy three year old’s face. Placing the laptop on the bed you got up and walked over to her.

“What’s wrong little bird?” You asked her while crouching down to her level.

“Daddy’s leavin’ again tomorrow.” She replied with a pout.

Giving her a sad smile you embraced your niece, “I know,” You told her, “Sucks a lot, doesn’t it?” JJ simply nodded her head as she wrapped her arms around your neck. “Where is your dad anyways?” You questioned her.

“Wif mama, Arrow, and Zeppy.” She responded, letting out a sigh. With JJ’s words you couldn’t help but squeeze her a little tighter. Jensen and Danneel had been worried about JJ feeling left out with the birth of the twins. Their fear had led to them asking you to move in with them. You could help Danneel with the kids, spend time with your family, and it gave you more time to work on the screenplay you had been writing.

Summary: Eggsy
comes home from a rough mission feeling like he is not good enough for his
girlfriend.

A/N’s: Wow! So,
this is the first reader insert fic that I have ever written. It also happens
to be the first thing I’ve ever written that I’ve let anybody read, so please
go easy on me. I’d love some constructive criticism, if anyone has any ideas on
how I could make my writing any better. Thanks! I hope you all enjoy.

Eggsy
hesitated to even go home that night. Part of him wanted to find somewhere else
to stay for the night, his mum’s or Roxy’s. His last mission had been rough. He
was beaten, bruised, and bloody. This wouldn’t be the first time he had come
home to her like this. At this point he knew that she was probably used to it,
that she maybe even expected it most nights and he hated that. He hated making
her upset or fearful for him. He hated that when he was on a mission, she was
stuck home, alone and worrying about his safety. But more than anything, he
hated the fact that he was what caused her distress.

It wasn’t
until he reached their apartment building that he realized where his post
mission debrief walk had taken him. While completely lost in thought he had
made his way back to her. Right back to his incredible Y/N. Right back to the
woman he was so helplessly in love with. Even when he was internally debating
coming home or not he still found his way back to the girl he considered to be
his entire world. ‘I’m never gonna be
able to stay away from her.’ He shook his head at this thought. Eggsy knew that he couldn’t keep doing this to
her. He didn’t want to keep doing
this to her.

The brunette continues to stand outside of
their building for a few more minutes, just allowing himself a chance to sort
out his thoughts. He doesn’t know how long he ended up standing out there. It was
not until a man staring down at his cell phone almost knocked him over that he
finally decided that it was time to face the music. Taking one last deep breath
he walks into the small building, heading straight for the elevator and hitting
the button for his floor.

As he
walks down the hallway to their apartment, he sends a small smile to the single
mother who lives down the hall and offers to help her bring her groceries
inside but she declines with a kind smile and a simple ‘No thanks’. Eggsy
stares down at the floor as he continues to walk, slightly disappointed that
his plan to procrastinate the conversation he was about to have had failed. He genuinely didn’t think that his heart could
beat any faster than it already was but he is quickly proven wrong once he
makes it to the end of the hall and finds himself standing in front of their
door.

The first
thing he notices once he steps inside is the sweet smell of his favorite
chocolate chip cookies. The familiar scent is almost able to bring a smile to
his somber looking face. Y/N always made the delicious treats when she had some
spare time before he came home. She had once told him that it was an old family
recipe and that her mother always made them for her when she was having a rough
day as a kid. A sigh escapes his lips as he hears her footsteps coming down the
hall to their bedroom. He is barely able
to set down his bag before she is pulling him into a tight hug. “You’re home! I
missed you while you were gone babe!” She says with such relief in her voice
that it almost breaks his heart.

“Hi
beautiful. I missed you too.” He replies as he slowly pulls back from her hug
to look down at his sweet girlfriend. Her hair is pulled up in a messy bun with
a few pieces hanging loose around her face and at the back of her neck and she
is already in pajamas. A pair of fluffy polka-dot socks are on her feet. She
looks adorable (like always). She gives him a warm smile, but it starts to fade
when she notices the gloomy look on his face.

“What’s
wrong Eggy?”

The old
nickname still manages to make him smile. An old reminder of simpler times when
they were first introduced and she had – much like many other people he had met
– misheard his name. He places a gentle kiss on her forehead before walking
into the living room and sitting on their couch. He motions for her to come sit
down next to him and takes one more deep breath before he finally begins to say
what has been stuck in his mind since his mission ended.

“I hate
making you worry about me.” He’s barely started and the look on her face is
already enough to make him want to shut up. The e/c eyed girl sitting next to
him looks confused and worried, which makes what he is trying to do so much
harder because this, this is exactly
what he is trying to stop from happening again. The entire point of what he is
saying, what he is doing was to stop himself from making her nervous anymore.
He closes his eyes for a second and reminds himself of what has been going
through his mind for hours, of all the times he came home and she had bags
under her eyes from the lack of sleep. Or of the texts he would get from her,
late at night when he was away on a mission. The ones that said things like ‘I
hope you’re getting some sleep baby, but I’m still up and I just wanted to check
in. Love you.’ or ‘I know you can’t tell me about what’s going on with the
mission, but please tell me that you’re doing ok at least.’.

Eggsy
reopens his eyes, but this time instead of looking at her, into her kind eyes,
he looks away, towards the coffee table where he sees the plate of her freshly
baked cookies and his body completely deflates. His normally cocky demeanor has been replaced
with one of hesitance and resignation. His shoulders are slumped and his jaw is
clenched. “You shouldn’t have to spend so much time wondering if I’m gonna come
home or not. You shouldn’t be stuck awake all night because you’re thinking
about what kind of danger I might be in on my missions.” He glances at the
floor next to the couch as he says this and notices JB sitting there with his
head tilted to the side, just staring at him, as if he too was wondering what the
fuck Eggsy was doing, “I mean fuck sweetheart, you are so incredible, way
too good for me. You deserve somebody who can provide you with some sense of
stability. Someone who you can count on to come home to you every night. I see
how exhausted you are when I get home from a mission and just when you start to
get rested again, I get called away. I can’t keep doing this to you.”

Sometime
around when he had said that she was too good for him the h/c haired girl had
started slowly shaking her head, looking at him in what he could only describe
as pure horror. Before he could continue talking she cut him off, “Eggsy stop!
I don’t care about any of that stuff! I know you can’t tell me much about your
missions, but I can tell enough to know that what you do is incredibly
important. You go out there and you put yourself in danger to protect other
people. I will never ever be angry at you for that, for how brave that makes
you baby. I would choose you over some normal picket fence life any day. It’s
not even a question.”

For the
first time in minutes Eggsy looks up at her, into her e/c eyes. He is no longer
able to continue to try to stay strong and Y/N can see the tears in his green
eyes. Letting out a deep breath he mumbles, barely loud enough to hear, “You
deserve better.”

At this
the normally collected girl bolts out of her seat next to him and throws her
hands in the air before crying out, “You know what! Maybe I do, but even if
that is somehow true I don’t want better! I want you!” She takes a deep breath
and lowers herself to a kneeling position in front of him and gently places her
hands on his knees, “I don’t care what kind of baggage comes along with you. I
will gladly put up with any of it if it means that I still get to be with you
and cuddle with you and love you! I
love you Eggsy and I can’t stand the idea of not being your girl anymore. So
please, if you genuinely believe that I would in any way be better off without
you then do whatever the hell you have to get that thought out of your head!”

The boy
on the couch stares down at her and lets out a sob before collapsing forward onto
the floor next to her. He clumsily pulls her towards him and hides his face
into the curve of her shoulder and she carefully maneuvers herself into his lap
and wraps her arms around him and for the first time since he got home she is
able to truly take him in. She notices the bruises running along his cheek
bones and the one surrounding his left eye. She can only imagine the bruises
that lay under his suit which is now getting wrinkled by their position. After
a moment, she carefully pulls away from him and rubs her thumb over his split
lip.

“Now babe
please, you’re hurt. Just sit down and let me take care of you.”

He nods
while staring into her eyes and allows then both to stand up. He sits down on
the couch while she rubs her hand carefully over his face one more time before
she walks into the kitchen and grabs a few ice packs as well as some pain meds
and water. Once he has taken the pills she sends him to get changed into some
comfier clothing and grabs them both a glass of milk before sitting down on the
couch and turning on the tv. She puts on some random sitcom while she waits for
him to come back and finally allows herself to process everything that has just
happened.

When Eggsy
walks back into the room she is just staring at the coffee table, completely
lost in her own thoughts and he has to call out her name to get the girl to look up
at him. He had changed into an old sweater and some sweatpants. When she does
finally look up at him, he looks concerned and she gives him a small smile to
let him know that she is ok before moving over slightly so that he can sit down
next to her. Once he is comfortable on the couch beside her, she hands him the
ice packs and the milk before reaching forward and grabbing the plate of
cookies. They each grab a few and he places his arm on the couch behind her
head, allowing the girl to rest against his side. He smiles after he takes his
first bite of cookie and kisses her on the forehead, quietly telling her how
much he loves her and her cookies.

“I’m
glad,” she says before joking, “I make them with love.”

He
chuckles. They spend the next few hours on the couch and they eventually end up
laying down, him behind her, stomach and chest pressed up against her back. As
the night goes on and they both begin to get sleepier and sleepier he begins to
rub his hand up and down her arm. Just as she begins to drift off she turns her
head to look at him and says, quietly, “You are right about me being terrified
to lose you during a mission, but what scares me even more is the idea that you
might leave me voluntarily.”

He
presses a kiss to her nose and gently tells her, “Don’t worry love. I ain’t
going anywhere. I promise.”

@kurtwxgners Thanks for letting me tag you and I hope that you like it!